Process and apparatus for reducing the temperature of cooling oil



Feb.].,26,19 24-. v. 1,485,134

H. A. WRIGHT PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE OF COOLING OIL FiledJan. a. 192i 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Feb. 26 192 4.

H. A. WRIGHT v PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE OF COOLING OIL Filed Jan. 5. L921 2 Sheets-sheaf z 'INVENTOR' A TTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

HERBERT A. WRIGHT, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PROCESS AND arrnnnrus FOR REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE o-E oooLiNG OIL.

Applicationfiled January 3, 1921. Serial No. 434,771.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT A. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and usefullmprovement in Processes and Apparatus for Reducing the Temperature of Cooling Oil, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a process for reducing the temperature of the oil employed in the cooling or hardening treatment of highly heated metal articles, such as springs and tools, as they come fro-m the apparatus for forming or heating them, in the shape desired, and has for its object an improved series of steps by means of which the oil may be regulated and systematically furnished to and withdrawn from the vat or tank through which the highly heated articles are passed, preferably on an endless conveyor, so that it is not necessary to halt the manufacturing process at intervals to allow the oil to cool, and so that a reasonably uniform temperature of the oil touching the fabricated articles may be maintained, regardless of whether the apparatus for heating the articles has just been started or whether it has been running for some little time; and, while I shall describe my invention as applied to thehandling of oil,

it is of course equally effective for the use of brine or even ordinary water, and I desire the scope of this disclosure to be understood accordingly. My invention also includes a preferred form of apparatus for effecting this, although I do not desire to be understood as confining my invention to the exact details thereof herein disclosed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of a single article unit and a Vat, radiator and pump connection shown in relation thereto; Figure 2 is an elevational view of this preferred arrangement, showing the relation of the settling tank, the pump and the riser pipe leading into the radiator. Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the interior of the quenching tank, showing the relation of the endless conveyor; and Figure ,4 is a plan view'of the apertured cover piece for the tank.

A represents a unit of heat-treating machinery' of whatever type the particular work in question may require; as its details form no part'wha'tev'er ofthis invention, I have represented it in the plain block form shown,'so that it will be understood that as the heat treated-articles are delivered from it in a highly heated condition they fall or quenching tank C.- The rate of travel of this conveyor determinesthe length of time that the heated articles shall remain under the cooling influence of the oil and consequently it may be so timed that'the articles may be expelled or taken out when their temperature has been reduced to a predetermined point.

This tank or vat C has connected with it an outlet pipe D-and an inlet pipe E. 'The former ofthese, D, leadstothe settling tank J, into which it empties adjacent the depending baffle plate N, which thus forces all of the oil coming from the pipe D, often carrying particles of-dirt and other'impurities, to travel beneath the edge of the baffle plate to the bottom of the tank before it can respond to the suction of'the pump K, by which it is forced upwardly through the stand-pipe H and its branching upper ends intothe header P of the radiator F. It is thereacted upon by the cooling fan L and passes from the radiator tubes G through the lower header Q into the inlet pipe E through which the now relatively cooled oil is fed to the'quen'ching tank C. i

"The outlet pipe D from 'the vat C leads, as stated, directly to the settling tank J; whereas the inlet pipe E leads from the radiator F, so that there is formed a circuit or passage for the oil which includes the settling tank, the pipes, the quenching tank C and the radiator F, allenclosedas regards the outer air, except for such leakage of air as may occur at the point of connection between the article-handling device and the vat O, the radiator F and cooling fan L being closed within the practically air-tight housing M 'The fact of the on being in motion through its circuit prevents any particular quantity of oil remaining within the vat C for any appreciable time, so that its temperature is prevented from rising unduly and thus not only destroying the desired metal-affecting characteristics of the oil as such, but as'well preventing the temperature of the oil from rising to such a point that it cannot suitably and efiiciently act upon the highly heated metal articles which pass through the quenching tank 0; it is also prevented from attaining such a temperature as to involve the risk of becoming ignited. At the same time, the travel of the heated oil through the various pipes and through the cooling radiator results in lowering its temperature to such a point that when it once more reaches the quenching tank C, after having traversed its circuit, its temperature is reduced to a point where it can act efficiently upon the highly heated articles; and, at the same time, the practical enclosure of the oil against exposure to the outer air prevents its oxidation as well as the dirtying influence almost unescapably present when oil employed in this manner is simply used in an open top vat, into which the articles to be cooled are indiscriminately thrown.

What I claim as new is: V

1. The process of reducing the temperature of oil employed in the cooling of heated metal articles, consisting in employing a practically closed containing tank, through which the articles are passed, a settling tank, and a cooling radiator, connected into a circuit by means of inlet and outlet pipes, and establishing a flow from said containing tank to the bottom portion of said settling tank, thence from the upper portion of the latter to said cooling radiator, and thence back to said closed containing tank.

2. The process of reducing the temperature of oil employed in the cooling of heated metal articles, which consists in passing such articles through a practically closed tank provided with inlet and outlet connections, forcing relatively cool oil thereinto and drawing out therefrom and into a closed setting tank and thence into a cooling radiator the oil which has been heated by the passage of the highly heated metal articles therethrough, and returning the oil when cooled to the practically closed tank for further action upon the articles to be cooled.

3. A cooling process for oil employed in the treatment of highly heated metal articles which consists in connecting the vat in which the articles are treated with a cooling radiator and with a pump all of which are substantially protected against the direct access of outside air, whereby there is established a continuous flow of oil through said vat and said radiator, thereby establishing a steady changing of the oil particles coming in contact with the heated metal articles.

a. The process of cooling oil employed in the treatment of heated metal articles, which consists in connecting in a circuitrelatively closed to the outside air the vat through which the articles pass, a cooling member, a settling tank, and a pump for effecting the travel of the oil, thereby constantly removing from the vat the oil which has become heated through contact with the metal articles and substituting relatively cool oil thereof.

5. The process of protecting oil employed in the treatment of highly heated metal articles against deterioration and oxidation, which consists in causing the travel thereof through a relatively enclosed circuit which includes a treating vat, a settling and cooling medium and an actuating pump.

6. lleans for counteracting the influence of heated metal upon the oil employed for cooling them, comprising a treating vat, inlet and outlet pipes connected therewith, settling and cooling members, means for effecting the travel of the oil through the several members, thereby constantly changing thebath acting on the heated metal articles within the vat, and means for substantially shielding the oil passing through the several parts against the direct access of outside air.-

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT A. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM M. SWAN, JEFFERSON G. THURBER. 

